Safe In His Arms (Manhunt) by Rita Herron Read Free Book Online Page A

jerked her gaze to his.  “Did you see anything?”
    “No, did you?”
    The keys rattled as she held out her hand to him. “I’m not sure. There might have been someone on horseback at the top of the hill. But it could have been one of the ranch hands.”
    Or it could have been Jones hanging around to see her reaction when she received his little gift.
    Bastard.
    He deserved to die.
     

     
    Mia could have sworn she’d seen Geoff on the hill.
    Then again, now that she knew he was near, she’d probably be seeing him in every shadow and corner.
    Was he still on the ranch?
    “Call Henry and tell him that Jones has been here. As soon as I check the inside of the house we’re going to ride the property.”
    Mia nodded, dug out her cell phone and punched Henry’s number while Alex let himself inside the cabin. From her vantage point on the porch, everything appeared to be as she’d left it. The lights were off. Furniture in place.
    The phone rang once, twice, a third time, then Henry answered. Mia quickly explained that Geoff had been on the ranch.
    “I’ll alert my foreman immediately,” Henry said. “I called a meeting of the hands at the chow hall, but I didn’t tell them why I wanted to talk to them. Thought if someone was working for your ex, it might tip our hand.”
    “Good thinking,” Mia said, surprised at Henry’s forethought.  “We’ll see you soon. Alex and I are going to take a ride before we meet you. I want to exercise the horses.” And she and Alex could look for traces of Geoff.
    “Listen, Mia, don’t worry about your job until this maniac is caught,” Henry said. “Your safety is more important than anything.”
    Touched by his concern, she blinked back tears and thanked him. But she took her job seriously and cared about the animals, and she wouldn’t allow Geoff to prevent her from doing that job.
    A second later Alex returned. “The cabin is clean. But you may want to see if anything is missing.”
    “All right.” Not that Geoff would have reason to steal anything of hers. But she’d feel better if she checked.
    Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she entered. She quickly scanned the living room and adjacent kitchen but saw nothing amiss. Next she glanced inside the bathroom. Nothing out of place.
    Well, technically things were since she’d rebelled against Geoff’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies to have everything perfectly in order and kept a basket on the counter with her cosmetics piled in it. He had insisted they be arranged in order of height on the shelf he’d built strictly for that purpose.
    The bedroom looked just as she’d left it as well. Her clothes hanging in the closet. A pair of work boots tossed in the corner. Her denim jacket draped over the chair.
    But when she opened her dresser drawer, her lungs constricted. All the sensible underwear that she’d bought was gone.
    In its place were delicate lacy bras and thongs, ones like Geoff had bought her.
    Ones he’d obviously chosen for her just as he’d insisted on doing so when they were married.
    She’d thought it was a romantic gesture at first.  Titillating even.
    Until it had become suffocating.
    When she’d refused to wear the black satin undies he’d given her one night, he’d become enraged and beaten her senseless. That was the first time.
    But it hadn’t been the last.
    Fury raged through her, and she grabbed the trashcan, snatched the lacy garments and hurled them into the garbage.
    Alex caught her arm and gently rubbed his thumb along her wrist. “What’s wrong, Mia?”
    “He was here,” she cried. “He bought all of this. None of it is mine.”
    It was a statement from Geoff. She understood perfectly.
    He wanted her to know that he’d found her. And that eventually he would wear her down.
     

     
    “Son of a bitch.” Alex hooked his thumb toward the door.  “I need to check the property now in case he’s still lurking around.”
    She dumped the last of the underwear, fighting an